


Breathless

by AnaiyaRhayne



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28149846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaiyaRhayne/pseuds/AnaiyaRhayne
Summary: A special night at Harry and Draco's first joint Christmas Eve Masquerade as a married couple led her to a masked man...and an interesting revelation.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Neville Longbottom
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19
Collections: Hermione’s Nook Kissmas





	Breathless

“Tell me why I agreed to go to the Malfoy’s Christmas Eve Masquerade again?” Hermione Granger huffed, plopping down onto the bed behind her.

“Because Harry and Draco now are married, Harry is your best friend, you lost the bet as to when they were going to get married, and you love me too much to let me attend alone,” Ginny Weasley ticked each point off of her fingers after pausing from pursuing the dresses in Hermione’s closet. When she turned back around to continue her perusal, she sighed in exasperation and narrowed her eyes. “Nothing here is good enough for the Masquerade.” 

Ginny turned and pulled Hermione off of the bed. 

“Come on,” Ginny smirked. “We need to go see Pansy and see if she has anything left from her new line.”

“Gin-ny,” Hermione groaned, only half resisting her friend. “You know I’m nothing but a dress up doll to her! And you know she won’t quit this time unless I agree to be the model for her new line.”

“Of course I know!” Ginny exclaimed, turning her head to make sure Hermione was still behind her. “And you have the perfect coloring for it! Don’t leave me hanging...please?”

“Fine,” Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes. “But you owe me one.”

“Agreed,” Ginny’s smirk turned into a full out smile. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

When the pair got to the fireplace, they each took a handful of floo powder, threw it in, and shouted, “Pansy’s Palace!”

“Ginny! Great to see you again!” Pansy Weasley, neé Parkinson greeted the redhead warmly before she turned to Hermione. “And Hermione! I think this is the first time I’ve seen you in my shop willingly.”

“Not so willingly,” Hermione muttered to herself. She cleared her throat and greeted Pansy as warmly as she could. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Ginny decided to drag me to you to see if you had anything for me to wear to the Masquerade tonight - since according to her, nothing in my wardrobe is ‘acceptable.’”

“And…” Ginny prompted, causing Pansy to raise an eyebrow in question. 

“And...” Hermione swallowed hard, really not wanting to say the next part, but she and Ginny had made a deal. “And if you still need me, to volunteer as your model for your new line.”

Both of Pansy’s eyebrows shot up as her jaw dropped. She turned to Ginny for confirmation and when Ginny nodded, Pansy squealed. 

“You’re awesome, Hermione!” she exclaimed, hugging her friend tightly. “And yes, I actually do have a dress that I made with you specifically in mind. I had a feeling that you would wait until the last minute to try and find something, so I decided to be prepared.” She grabbed Hermione by the hand and pulled her to the back room. “You’re going to love it, I promise. I even had a mask commissioned to match.”

There in front of Hermione, on a hook coming down from the ceiling, hung the most beautiful dress that Hermione had ever seen. It was mainly burgundy, but had gold accents expertly woven through it. It was backless, and the choker that would be closed around her neck was gold. The sleeves were mesh, came down to her wrist, and were embedded with gold flecks that shimmered in the light. The mask that hovered above it was just as beautiful and as breathtaking as the dress. It was shaped like a butterfly and had gold accents similar to those on the dress. Gold tendrils hung on either side and gold antennas topped it off. Hermione’s jaw had dropped and she was speechless. 

“Pansy, this is  _ beautiful _ ,” Hermione breathed as she stepped up to the dress. “Are you sure you want  _ me _ to wear this?”

“Of course,” Pansy smiled, coming up to stand beside Hermione. “I told you, I made it for you because I know how you like to procrastinate when it comes to shopping for dresses. This is also the first dress I designed for the new line and who better to showcase it than the Golden Girl of Gryffindor?” 

“ _ Pansy… _ " Hermione groaned. 

"I know, I know, you hate that nickname," Pansy laughed. "But come on, you can't tell me that name wouldn't be perfect in this instance."

"Okay, you're right, it's perfect," Hermione conceded. "So are you supplying just the dress and mask for this endeavor? Or are you supplying the makeup, as well?"

"Oh no, I'm just supplying the dress, mask, and shoes," Pansy shook her head. "Daphne is the makeup expert, she does it for all my models."

“So she’ll be doing my makeup for the runway shoe, too?” Hermione asked. “And who’s going to be doing my hair?”

“Yep,” Pansy confirmed. “And the best person to do your hair would be Astoria. She’s learned tricks that I’ve never seen before.” She noticed that Ginny had been quiet throughout their conversation. “You’ve been quiet over there, Ginny. Am I to assume that your silence means that you like it, too?”

“Yes, very much so,” Ginny smiled at her friend. “How long do you think it’s going to take Astoria to do Hermione’s hair? We only have about five hours before the start of the Masquerade.”

“Oh shite, I’ll floo her now!” Pansy gasped as she rushed over to her fireplace. She grabbed a handful of powder and threw it in. “Astoria Attic!”

“Hey, Pansy, how’s it going?” Hermione heard the woman say.

“Going good, but I have a situation on my hands,” Pansy answered. “You have any clients there at the moment?”

“Nope, completely free,” Astoria replied. “Why, do you have someone for me?”

“Hermione Granger needs her hair done for the night,” Pansy smiled. “You game?”

“Oh hell yes!” Astoria exclaimed. “I’ve been dying to get my hands on her hair. Budge over and I’ll come through.”

“Thanks, Stori, you’re the best!” Pansy grinned as Astoria came through. 

“So I’m told,” Astoria smirked. She turned to Hermione. “Is there anything specific you would like me to do?”

“Ummm,” Hermione’s pink tinged slightly pink. She had never really done anything with her hair, save for leaving it down or putting it in a ponytail. “No, not really. I’m your guinea pig for the night, so do whatever you think would look the best.”

“Trust me, Hermione, by the time we’re done with you, you won’t recognize yourself - and neither will anyone else,” Daphne smiled as she stepped through the door. She turned to Ginny. “I know you’ll want to see the finished product, but you’ll have to wait until you come pick her up. It will take that long to get her completely ready.”

“Oh, alright,” Ginny groaned, though she was smiling. “Just remember to think of a name you want to use tonight.”   
  
“I already have,” Hermione smirked. “That’s the one thing that I did do in advance.”   
  
“Oh? And what name are you going by?” Daphne asked curiously. 

“Hera,” Hermione smirked. “It’s a different name, but it’s similar enough that I’ll actually be able to remember to answer to it. How about you?”

“Princess,” Pansy answered. 

“Gwendolyn,” Ginny replied. 

“Delphine,” Daphne smiled. 

“Aurora,” Astoria smirked.

“So we’re all sticking with our true first initials,” Hermione laughed. “Alright Ginny, you’d better go so that you have plenty of time to get ready. I’ll see you back here in -” Hermione checked the clock “-Four and a half hours.”

Pansy rubbed her hands together in glee. 

“Alright, ladies, let’s get to work!” She exclaimed.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Even though Hermione was doing something that she really didn’t care for, the next four hours seemed to fly by. She had been pampered all afternoon and was declared ready for the Masquerade a half hour earlier than expected. When Pansy had her stand in front of the mirror for a final inspection, the reflection of herself rendered her speechless. Daphne was right, she didn’t recognize herself, as the final product made her look like she had just come down from Olympus itself. 

“Hermione, you look  _ gorgeous! _ ” Ginny gasped as she stepped into the shop. Hermione’s eyes met Ginny’s in the mirror. 

“You’re a vision yourself,” Hermione smiled brightly. “And I swear, these three were like worker bees. If they weren’t working on me, they were working on each other.”

“Hence why it took almost the full allotted time to get ready,” Astoria laughed. 

“Alright everyone, let’s check to make sure we have everything,” Pansy ordered. “Bags?”

“Check!” Four unified voices replied, each holding up their bags. 

“Wands?”

“Check!” They all touched their hidden wands.

“Masks?”

“Check!” They all put their masks on and secured them so that only they would be able to take them off. 

“Just let me set the wards and we can apparate from here,” Pansy explained. A few flicks of her wand and they were ready. “Alright, from now until we come back here later on, use only each other’s faux names. Got it?”

“Got it!” Everyone smiled, then started giggling. 

One by one, they all popped over to Malfoy Manor. When Astoria, the last one to apparate, got there, they all walked up to the manor together. Just before they got to the door, they all looked up in awe, as Harry and Draco had gone all out for their first jointly held Christmas Eve Masquerade. 

“This is gorgeous!” Ginny gasped in admiration.

“Thank you, lovely lady,” a man’s voice startled them out of their reverie. “Do you have your invitations?” They all reached into their bags and handed the gentleman their invitations. “And have you all chosen your names for tonight?”

“Yes, sir,” They all murmured. 

“Then I wish you all a pleasant evening, and welcome to Malfoy Manor,” the gentleman smiled.

When they had all stepped through the door, they again gasped in awe. The Manor was exquisitely decorated and fairy lights lit the path they were to take to the large ballroom the Masquerade was being held in. As they slowly made their way there, they took in the decorations they could see and murmured appreciatively. Draco and Harry really had gone all out, not only on the Masquerade, but also on the Christmas decorations. Of the small group, only Hermione and Ginny knew what it was like for Harry growing up and they both knew that he would always go all out on holidays. 

“They did a fantastic job,” Pansy breathed as they stepped into the ballroom.

“Thank you, my dear,” a familiar voice drawled just off to the side of the group. Draco’s eyes were warm and his smile was genuine. He took Pansy’s hand and gave it a small kiss. “May I inquire who you are?” 

“Princess,” Pansy replied, granted him a smile of her own. She knew what he was going to say when he leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

“Hello, Pansy,” he whispered. “I knew you’d be using that name as soon as we announced the masquerade. Thank you for coming.” He stepped back and looked at the rest of the group. Everyone else was a mystery to him, so he stepped to each lady one at a time, starting with Daphne. “May I inquire your name?”

“Delphine,” she said quietly, though she knew Draco would recognize her voice from the Slytherin common room. Her suspicions were confirmed when he leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

“Hello, Daphne,” he whispered. “Thank you for coming, it means a lot to us.”

He stepped back from Daphne and turned to Astoria.

“May I inquire your name?”

“Aurora,” she replied, smiling at Draco, knowing that she, too, would be recognized. She was not disappointed when Draco stepped forward to whisper in her ear. 

“Hello, Astoria,” he whispered. “Thank you for coming.”

He again stepped back, then turned to Ginny. He eyed her critically before speaking.

“May I inquire your name?”

“Gwendolyn,” Ginny smirked. Though she knew that Draco would probably not recognize her voice, she knew that if she saw Harry, he would know. She was proven right about Draco when he didn’t step forward. 

“Gwendolyn,” he repeated, tipping his head towards her. “Thank you for coming.”

Finally, he turned to Hermione. He also eyed her critically before speaking. 

“May I inquire your name?”

“Hera,” Hermione said in a sultry voice that sounded nothing like her own. She had decided that she would adopt a sultry goddess like persona for the Masquerade since they were supposed to keep their identities a secret anyway. She knew she made the right decision when Draco didn’t step forward like he had with his old housemates. 

“Hera,” he repeated. “A beautiful name for an ethereal goddess. Thank you for coming.”

He stepped back and faced the group in full. 

“Thank you all for coming,” he said gently. “I hope you all have a wonderful time tonight. For now, I have to leave you to go check on my wayward husband.”

As Draco walked away, the group of ladies formed a small circle. 

“Alright ladies, let’s split and see how much fun we can have,” Pansy smirked. “Let’s try and meet up afterwards, but if for any reason you leave with someone and can’t make it, send a note with an owl and we’ll meet up tomorrow. Have fun ladies!”

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Between dancing and catching up with classmates that she recognized, the next few hours flew for Hermione. No one had recognized Hermione yet, and for that, she was thankful. She laughed hard when she recognized Fred and George and snorted when they got caught trying to place pranks around the ballroom. She smiled wistfully when she saw Harry, knowing that he would probably be the only one who would know her. She was happy for him when he had told her that he and Draco had finally stopped denying their feelings for the other, though she wasn’t exactly pleased how it came about. It took a game of Truth or Dare during their make-up year and a well placed dare from Draco himself for Harry to realize his feelings for the blonde. 

She started feeling warm from not only the dancing, but also from the few drinks she had managed to consume. She stepped out onto the well lit patio and smiled when she realized that the couple had placed warming charms all around. The fairy lights that decorated the trees on the patio also made the snow glisten like diamonds in the sun. 

“Hello, gorgeous,” a warm voice came from behind her. She quickly spun at the familiar voice, her eyes wide in surprise. “I apologize, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s quite fine,” Hermione replied quietly, her hand on her chest. “And what is your name?”

“Nile,” the familiar voice replied with a smile.

“Like the river in Egypt?” Hermione couldn’t help but ask.

“Exactly,” the man replied with a soft laugh. “Might I ask your name?”

“Hera,” Hermione breathed, feeling as though her voice was caught in her throat.

“The queen of the gods,” his response shocked her. “An exquisite name for an exquisite woman.” 

“How…?” Her question tapered off into silence.

“How did I know that?” Nile asked gently. “Though I’m a wizard, learning about the ancient Greek mythology myths have become a hobby of mine. They interest you, too, I would assume.”

“Indeed,” she replied. “Ever since I was a child, before I knew I was a witch.”

“Muggleborn, then?” Nile asked.

“Shite,” Hermione cursed under her breath.

“Don’t worry, my dear Hera, I won’t tell anyone,” Nile whispered as he stepped up to her. He gently cupped her face and brushed his thumb on her cheek. 

She closed her eyes when he touched her, and her breathing became shallow. She had never felt like this with anyone else. Even though he was only caressing her cheek, she felt a low burning start in her abdomen. She gasped and her eyes popped open when she felt his breath on her ear.

“Are you okay, Hera?” he whispered gently. “You sound...breathless.”

“I’m fine,” she squeaked as the low burning started to increase. Being as close to her as he was was causing her to feel things. Things that she hadn’t felt since she and Ron had broken up. Things that she very much wanted to explore. But she couldn’t do that with a stranger, even one whose voice she recognized - could she? She pulled back slightly and gasped when she saw his pupils blown out with arousal. Oh yes, she very much wanted to explore what she was feeling. A slight upturn at the corner of his mouth piqued her interest. 

“I might not get this chance again, so I need to ask you something,” he whispered thickly, continuing when she tilted her head. “May I kiss you, Hermione?” Though she was shocked that he knew who she was, she smiled and nodded her assent. 

The moment his lips touched hers, a beautiful and blinding silvery-white light surrounded them. The simple, chaste kiss she had been expecting quickly turned into something that, almost literally, took her breath away. The longer Nile kissed her, the brighter the light that encompassed them got. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, she felt his hands slide to the small of her back and pull her as close as possible to him. They continued even when they each felt a slight sting on the ring fingers of their left hands. When they finally parted, each gasping for breath, they finally noticed the crowd that surrounded them. 

“Hera, what just happened?” Pansy asked her friend.

“Nile kissed me senseless,” Hermione replied as she reached out to gently grab Nile’s hand. “As for that light, I have no idea.”

“Hera, that was a soul bond finalizing,” Ginny was shocked. She had been told about soul bonds since she was a young girl, but had never had the opportunity to see or experience one. Even though she was happy for Hermione, she was also slightly jealous. She was also kind of surprised that Hermione would kiss a masked stranger. “Whoever your masked man is, you and him are soulmates. You’ll be getting an owl first thing tomorrow morning.”

Hermione turned to Nile in surprise. The smile he gave her was warm, but tight, and she was flustered. He knew who she was, as he had called her by name, but she had no idea who he was. 

“Who are you?” she asked quietly, looking Nile in the eyes. Her heart clinched when he gave her a small, but sad, smile. 

“Are you sure you want to know?” he asked her quietly, though his voice wavered on the last word. 

“Of course,” she replied, bringing her hand up to cup his cheek. She smiled when he turned his head to kiss her palm. “If it makes you more comfortable, I can apparate us to my place.” 

“It’s okay, we’re among friends,” Nile smiled gently. He kept his eyes trained on hers and slowly removed his mask. Hermione gasped when she saw who was hiding behind the mask.

“Neville,” she breathed, stepping closer to him. She vaguely heard gasps of surprise come from the group that she came with and saw Ginny bring her hands to her mouth out of the corner of her eye. 

“Does anyone know who you are?” he leaned down and whispered in her ear. 

“The only ones who know are Pansy, Astoria, Daphne, and Ginny,” Hermione replied just as quietly. 

“So your other friends are in for quite a surprise,” Neville chuckled. 

“Indeed,” Hermione smirked. She kept her eyes trained on him as she slowly removed her mask. When the group realized that it was Hermione hiding under the mask, hissing whispers quickly filtered through the crowd. A gentle touch on her arm finally drew her gaze from Neville to a smiling Harry. He brought her in for a welcoming and congratulatory hug.

“Congratulations, sis,” he smiled when he finally pulled back. “Who would have thought that two members of the Golden Trio would find their soulmates?”

“Thanks, Harry,” she smiled back. “You and Draco did a wonderful job on the decorations.”

“Thanks, sis,” he replied as Draco stepped up to his side.

“Congratulations, Hermione, Neville,” Draco said warmly, giving her a quick hug. 

“Thank you, Draco,” Neville smiled, clapping Draco on the shoulder. He leaned forward and whispered something in Hermione’s ear, smiling when she nodded. “You wouldn’t be offended if Hermione and I left to talk, would you?”   
  


“Of course not,” Harry said firmly. “We did the same thing when it happened to us.”

“Thanks, Harry,” Hermione grinned. She turned to the group she had come with. “I’ll see you guys later, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Daphne smiled knowingly. “Let us know when it’s safe to come over.”

Hermione blushed at what Daphne was implying, then turned to Neville. 

“Your place or mine?” she asked.

“Yours,” he answered. “I’d rather be where you feel more comfortable.”

She smiled, then took his hand and apparated them away.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

When they landed, Neville wrapped Hermione in a close embrace and ducked his head down to kiss her again. She moaned in pleasure as his lips traveled from her lips down to her neck. Even though she wanted more - much more - she knew that they needed to talk before they did anything else. 

“Neville,” she moaned, pulling away slightly. “Before we do anything else, there’s something that I need to tell you.”

He pulled back slightly, knowing what the tone of her voice meant. 

“Let’s sit,” he suggested, gently pulling her to the couch and sitting her down. “What is it?”

“I-I’ve never...um...that is, I-I’m...oh bloody hell, Imavirgin,” her words came out in a rush. 

“Hermione, look at me,” he said softly, taking her by her hands and waiting to speak until she looked up. “It’s okay, Hermione. I’m not going to push you into doing anything that you don’t want to do. I’ve wanted you for so long that I will happily go at your pace. I will do nothing that makes you uncomfortable.”

“Thank you, Neville,” she whispered gratefully, quickly wrapping her arms around his neck and holding on tight. After a few minutes, she pulled back and looked at him, unshed tears lining her eyes. “I like what we did earlier. I don’t want to go further than that. Is that okay?”

“Perfectly okay,” Neville smiled gently. He brought his hands up and gently cupped her face. “May I kiss you again, Hermione?”

“Yes,” she breathed, leaning towards him and meeting him halfway. 

The kiss started out gently again, then slowly deepened. She moaned in delight when she felt his tongue asking for permission to slip between her lips. They parted after several minutes, both gasping for breath.

“Hmmm, not the first time I’ve kissed you breathless tonight,” Neville chuckled. 

“And not the last,” Hermione smirked, leaning forward to kiss him again. 

After several minutes, they again parted, both of them out of breath. 

“Thank you, Neville, for a wonderful time tonight,” Hermione smiled warmly. 

“You’re welcome,” he replied with a smile of his own. “May I see you tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course,” Hermione laughed, pulling him in for a hug. “I'm going to the Burrow tomorrow, though, for Christmas dinner so I won’t be free until after four.”

“That’s fine,” Neville said, placing his chin on her head. “Before I leave though…” He dipped down to capture her lips with his own again. He kissed her for several minutes until they were both left panting. He brushed his thumb against her cheek before stepping back. 

“Good night and Happy Christmas, my goddess,” he smiled warmly. “Until tomorrow.”

“Good night and Happy Christmas, Neville,” she replied. “Until tomorrow.”

With a gentle pop, he apparated out. 


End file.
